disasters and agriculture in the pacific islands - Pacific Disaster Net

A major export industry that was generating anannual export income of $WS9.5 million. Thisindustry was expanding at a rate of 7 percentper annum; andThe preferred staple food valued at $WS27.5million (derived by the ADB 1995 from amarket price of $WS.36/lb in 1993 prior to theblight and consumption at the time ofO.5kg/person/ day).Without any adjustments for resource allocations,this represents a total loss almost $WS40 million,equivalent to about 11 per cent of GDP in 1995.Of course there have been resource adjustments,with land and labour moved into production ofother subsistence and commercial crops. Theannual net impact of taro blight has thusprogressively declined since 1993. It is notpossible to precisely estimate what this declinemight amount to, but assuming it is around 20 percent per year, the total cost of taro leaf blight up tothe end of 1997 would have been almost $W150million. Additional costs identified by the ADBSector Review include: higher cost to consumers of substitute staplefoods (banana, ta'amu, and bread fruit); and research cost in developing resistant varietiesacceptable to consumers.When all things are considered, the cost of taroleaf blight is of a similar magnitude to the officialestimate cost of Cyclone Val to Samoa'sproductive sectors (Table 7).For most countries the loss of its main food andexport earner would be a disaster of catastrophicproportions. Yet Samoa quickly adjusted to thisdisaster. There was no famine. Export levels havenow been restored. This is testimony to the"hidden strength" of seemingly weak Pacificisland economies, and of Samoa in particular, thatlies with the traditional food production system.By January 1995, people were producing adequatefood to meet their needs. The prices of alternativecrops (bananas, ta'amu, breadfruit, yams) on thedomestic markets had also dropped to low levels,as village households began producing marketablesurpluses. Paulson andloss of revenue from the suspension in 1993 ofexports of green banana to ensure adequatelocal food supply;increased expenditure on imported rice andflour in 1994 and part of 1995 until other localfood substitutes came on stream. The estimatedincrease in imports was $WS3.1 million;initial government expenditure of $WS645,000to control the disease;a government subsidy of $WS82,000 forfungicides;